Photo editingImage generation

IC-Light

Changes lighting in a photo: relights an object or person from a description or to match a given background, so a cut-out looks natural.

The last open version came out in May 2024. The family has not been updated for a long time: the model still works, but do not expect fixes or new sizes.

Developer
Lvmin Zhang (author of ControlNet), USA
First release
May 2024
Latest release
May 2024
Sizes
based on SD 1.5
License
Commercial use allowedApache 2.0 (the newer FLUX-based IC-Light v2 has not been released openly)
Running
On your own serverNeeds a GPU
Industries
Retail and marketplaces, Marketing and content, Media and production
Deploy on your server Hugging Face GitHub

What it does

  • Matching product lighting to a new background
  • Studio lighting for portraits without a reshoot
  • Consistent lighting style across a catalog

Where it is used

Online retailAdvertising and designPhoto studios

Hardware requirements

LaptopLaptop or regular PC, up to 8 GB of VRAM — smaller versions
fits
1 GPUOne GPU with 16–80 GB — mid-size versions
fits
ClusterServer with several GPUs — flagship versions
no versions

Versions

  1. IC-Light (по тексту и по фону)

How to run it

On your own serverWeights are downloaded from Hugging Face and served with vLLM (load and API) or llama.cpp (modest hardware). The model then runs in a closed network with no per-request fees.Hugging Face
How much hardware you needCalculate the VRAM for the model size, context length and number of concurrent requests.Open the hardware calculator

I can set this up end to end: pick the model size, deploy it on your server and connect it to your systems.

Frequently asked questions

Can IC-Light be used in a commercial project?

Yes. License: Apache 2.0 (the newer FLUX-based IC-Light v2 has not been released openly). It allows commercial use, but it is still worth having a lawyer review the license before launch.

What hardware does IC-Light need?

At minimum: Laptop or regular PC, up to 8 GB of VRAM — smaller versions. Without a GPU the model is not practical. You can calculate the exact VRAM for your model size and context in the hardware calculator.

Does IC-Light support Russian?

Language does not matter for this model: it does not work with text.

Where can I download IC-Light and what does it cost?

The IC-Light weights are open and free to download. You only pay for the hardware it runs on and for the setup. Source links are at the bottom of this page.

How I deploy it for clients

  1. SelectionI pick the model size for your task and hardware and test it on your examples.
  2. DeploymentI deploy it on your server or in a closed network and provide an API.
  3. Fine-tuningI fine-tune it on your data (LoRA) or connect a knowledge base — whichever is cheaper for the task.
  4. IntegrationI connect it to your CRM, ERP, bot, website or team chat and set up monitoring.

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Details

Source: github.com/lllyasviel/IC-Light. Data checked against the model card on 22 Sep 2026. Have a lawyer review the license before commercial launch.